We previously reported on the first 20 honorees for the Castro’s Rainbow Honor Walk — a series of bronze plaques in San Francisco’s Castro District honoring LGBTQ heroes that were installed in September of 2014.
Since then, the organization’s board has voted to honor 24 additional heroes. These honorees include:
Alvin Ailey (1931-1989)
Gay American ballet dancer and choreographer credited with popularizing modern dance and revolutionizing African-American participation in 20th-century concert dance.
W.H. Auden (1907-1973)
Gay English poet known for love poems such as “Funeral Blues,” poems on political and social themes such as “September 1, 1939,” and poems on cultural and psychological themes such as “The Age of Anxiety.”
Josephine Baker (1906-1975)
Bisexual American-born French dancer, jazz and pop music singer, actress, and world-famous entertainer who refused to perform for segregated audiences in the United States. She was the first black woman to star in a major motion picture, Zouzou (1934).
Gladys Bentley (1907-1960)
Lesbian American pianist, singer, and performer during the Harlem Renaissance whose comical, sweet, and risqué performances included songs about her female lovers.
Glenn Burke (1952-1995)
First openly gay major league baseball player who was discriminated against by Major League Baseball and whose raised hand, after a home run, led to the invention of the high five.
Quentin Crisp (1908-1999)
Gay English writer and raconteur whose flamboyance attracted increasing public interest in his views about social manners and the cultivating of style.
Divine (1945-1988)
Gay American singer and actor specializing in female roles made famous by director John Waters.
Marie Equi (1872-1952)
Lesbian American physician and political activist devoted to providing care to working-class and poor patients, providing health care information to women, and fighting for civic and economic reforms, women’s right to vote and an eight-hour workday.
Fereydoun Farrokhzad (1938-1992)
Gay Iranian singer, actor, poet, TV and radio host, writer, and iconic opposition political figure who advocated for an open society that accepted all people.
Barbara Jordan (1936-1996)
Noted American politician and civil rights leader widely considered to be the first open lesbian elected to Congress, representing Texas in the House of Representatives.
Kiyoshi Kuromiya (1943-2000)
Japanese-American civil rights activist, founder of the Critical Path Project, one of the earliest and most comprehensive sources of HIV treatment information.
Audre Lorde (1934-1992)
Lesbian American writer, radical feminist, and political activist whose works expressed anger and outrage at civil and social injustices she observed throughout her life.
Leonard Matlovich (1943-1988)
Decorated American soldier, widely recognized as the first to challenge the U.S. military’s ban on homosexuals serving in the armed forces.
Freddie Mercury (1946-1991)
Bisexual British singer, songwriter, record producer and lead performer with the rock group Queen.
Sally Ride (1951-2012)
Lesbian, physicist and first American female astronaut in space.
Sylvia Rivera (1951-2002)
American transgender activist and founder of the Gay Activist Alliance.
Vito Russo (1946-1990)
Gay American film historian, activist and author of The Celluloid Closet that brought awareness to LGBT characterizations in film.
José Sarria (1922-2013)
Political activist, the first openly gay candidate for public office in the United States and founder of the Imperial Court system.
Maurice Sendak (1928-2012)
Gay American illustrator and author of children’s books, best known for Where the Wild Things Are.
Rikki Streicher (1926-1994)
Lesbian American political activist and founder of the Gay Games Federation.
Gerry Studds (1937-2006)
American politician and the first openly gay member of the U.S. Congress.
Lou Sullivan (1951-1991)
American author, activist, and female to male transgender pioneer who is widely credited for the modern understanding of sexual orientation and gender identity as distinct, unrelated concepts.
Chavela Vargas (1919-2012)
Lesbian Costa Rican-born singer known for her rendition of Mexican rancheras and for her contribution to other genres of popular Latin American music.
We’wha (1849-1896)
Zuni Native American Two-Spirit/Mixed Gender Tribal Leader who was male-bodied but performed primarily “feminine” tasks as well as serving as a mediator.
